Frequently Asked Questions

Who picks up my garbage and recyclables? How do I contact them?
Are there any businesses that accept certain items for recycling or reuse?
Where can I find information on what items I can dispose of and what the cost is?
Are there any items I can't bring in?
I'm from a business - what can I do with my confidential papers?
How do I dispose of electronics?
Who operates the Solid Waste Department and its facilities?
 

Who picks up my garbage and recyclables? How do I contact them?

Which hauler serves you depends on which municipality you live in.

Wittenberg Disposal, which can be contacted at 888-804-8556, serves the towns of Alban, Amherst, Buena Vista, Hull, and Pine Grove, and the villages of Amherst, Amherst Junction and Nelsonville.

Veolia Environmental Services is the hauler for the towns of Dewey, Plover, Lanark, Sharon, and Belmont, and the villages of Park Ridge, Plover, Whiting and Rosholt. Contact Veolia at 1-800-262-3101 or 715-421-3939.

The city garage (346-1537) serves the city of Stevens Point, while the town and village of Almond do not have curbside pickup.

For more information on when collections are made or on other recycling programs and drop-offs in your municipality, call 345-5969.  For communities not with the County program (Towns of Carson, Eau Pleine, Grant, Linwood, New Hope and Stockton, and the Village of Junction City) you may also call your municipal clerk for more information.

Are there any businesses that accept certain items for recycling or reuse?

Several businesses in the area accept plastic bags, packing peanuts and certain kinds of oil for recycling or re-use. Call 345-5969 for business names and numbers.

Where can I find information on what items I can dispose of and what the cost is?

See the Transfer Facility Fees page or brochure. With any additional questions, please call 345-5969. An appointment must be made to drop off hazardous materials; call 346-1931 to do so.

Are there any items I can’t bring in?

Items that are never accepted by the Continuous Clean Sweep Program include latex paint, radioactive materials, explosives, ammunition, compressed fuel cylinders, fire extinguishers, Freon 11 and 12 and medication wastes. For information on how to handles these materials, call 345-5972.

For more information on the Continuous Clean Sweep Program, see the brochure.

Latex paint is not considered hazardous and can be disposed of as follows: Leave can open or pour paint into a box lined with a plastic bag until the paint dries out. You can add kitty litter, sawdust or a hardener to speed this up. Then, this can be disposed of with the rest of your solid waste.

For items like paint and household cleaners, be sure to check out our Exchange Forum. This forum is open to businesses as well.

I’m from a business – what do I do with my confidential papers?

Free confidential shredding is offered to businesses at the Material Recovery Facility. This service includes a locked confidential storage area, with access available only to approved personnel. Shredded materials are bulked into bales and sent to a de-inking paper mill in De Pere. A signed Certificate of Destruction is available upon request. No appointment is necessary for this service – just drop the items off at the MRF during business hours.

How do I dispose of electronics?

The Portage County Solid Waste Department is working on a policy that would ban electronics from landfills. While that is not yet in place, we still strongly suggest recycling these items to keep harmful components like lead out of the landfills. There is a fee associated with some electronics recycling.

For more information of the switch from analog to digital TV in 2009, please see this informational page. This switch could have a significant negative impact on the solid waste industry, but you can help reduce that!

If you are recycling your computer, and wish to destroy personal information on your hard drive, go to www.killdisk.com.

Who operates the Solid Waste Department and its facilities?

While it is a county department, the Solid Waste Department primarily funds itself through what it charges for tipping fees and the recyclable materials sold to companies for re-use, as well as through state grants.

The Material Recovery Facility is publicly owned by the county, but privately operated under contract. The operator is responsible for sorting, processing and marketing the recyclables, plus handling equipment maintenance. The county receives the majority of revenues to offset the costs of processing, while the operator and its employees receive a small portion of the revenue as an incentive for quality sorting and marketing.

The Solid Waste Management Board governs the department. Their meetings are open to the public and are usually held at the MRF. Keep an eye out in newspaper legal notices for the dates of these meetings.